Complaint Review: AIG Auto Insurance

This is strictly out of curiousity. What happened with Joan's own insurance company? Did they leave her to the wolves? I'm curious why she was dealing directly with AIG (insurance of the party that hit her). Am I naive? I realize that insurance companies are infamous for trying to settle for less but it seems that she might have pursued this through her company and let them duke it out with AIG. This is strictly a question..not a criticism or a judgement.

My son and his family were hit by a drunk driver in December, and the four of them ended up in the hospital. The minute I found out about the accident I got him a lawyer, who took over everything and told my son exactly what the insurance company would try to pull. The very next day it started, but as soon as they heard, "call my attorney," they backed right off. Personally, I hate attorneys but they are the ones to call when you deal with bloodsuckers. It's a hell of a society we live in, and the insurance companies are a big part of the misery.

Anyone saying that the insurance company does not make money by sending or telling a customer to use a certain garage must be high on crack!

This is just a response to something I read while going over other complaints relating to AIG and it's subsidiaries.

I used to work for American General Life and Accident Insurance Company, which is now a subsidiary of AIG. Speaking from experience with handling clients' claims, the company, AIG, is very stingy with divying out claim money. Often times, they will recant original statements during the taking of an app for ANY type of insurance in order to protect there own assets. By settling claims for less than what was assesed, the company retains that much more in asset value. Where do you think claim money comes from? The company has to pay out whatever comes in, so common sense business would dictate that bring in more than you pay out or simply cut those expense costs by as much as you can.

So by AIG stiffing both the client and the mechanic out of 500-700 dollars, that money went back into AIG's collective "pocket" to pay rude agents and incompetent managers. The best advice if you are faced with any insurance company truly trying to short change you is to be persistant and know your legal rights. If necessary, take it to a higher power until the company cannot justify spending the extra money in order to save a measley 500 bucks.

Don't let big companies push you around because they think they know everything. Read your policies, go over them very carefully and ask questions constantly until things are 100 percent clear. If your agent refuses to answer ANY question or says they don't know the answer, go to a higher up. It is the agent's job to know what they are handling, not yours.

More reliable information regarding insurance companies and complaints against them would be to check with your state's Department of Insurance, which regulates all companies who sell insurance in that state.

There are also independent rating firms such as AM Best or Standard & Poor's. These resources are usually accessible on the internet.

Just a suggestion, as these resources are going to give fair & accurate information, not just one person's unpleasant experience or hearsay.

I'm not saying that we aren't all entitled to our opinions, just suggesting a more well rounded approach to making an informed decision.

I did the math. I did it before your comment and here is how it works:

The income for an insurance company is directly from premiums & stock market. These can be higher or lower depending on a number of factors.

The expenses come from operating costs (i.e. adjusters) and from claims. The operating costs will be relatively consistent, but the claims can be altered. If they get what should be a $5000 claim paid for $3000, then that's another $2000 in their pockets.

You take the income minus the expenses and that equals the profit.

Also consider how many people carry insurance but never have a claim. Using your example: $500 yearly premium. Carry a home for 7 years and it's $3500. You've covered a claim. And many homeowners fight not to have claim becaue it can make the home unsellable.

There are even some insurance companies that have cancelled policies that have been in effect for years because of one minor claim.

According to "badfaithinsurance.com" AIG is ranked 15th worst.

Here are some informative links:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/view.asp?id=41490

http://www.badfaithinsurance.com/

http://www.screwedbyinsurance.com/auto.shtml

Before everyone starts accusing the insurance company of "low-balling claims to make a profit", lets slow down and pay attention to the AIG policy itself. An insurance policy will only pay up to the limits specified in the policy. Depending on what coverages the AIG policyholder selected, JoAnn in TX may not have been entitled to anymore than she got.

The property damage coverage on the AIG policy is required by state law (in most, if not all states). Depending on the policy, this doesn't necessarily provide rental car reimbursement. Unless JoAnn had that on her own personal policy, she wouldn't have been provided with a rental car via AIG. The seven days she did have a rental car was probably as a courtesy. (They didn't expect the body shop to take 3 months to fix your car).

Auto insurance certainly does not cover "pain and suffering". You should have been reimbursed for medical bills and time off work as a result of your injuries from this accident, which all could have been documented.

I do agree with Tom. There is no reason your vehicle should have been in the shop for three months. That seems very unprofessional to me, but I'm not in the auto body industry. Insurance companies do not recommend certain body shops just so they can "get a discount and not use manufacturer's parts". They do this so they can warantee the work that has been done and to make sure there are no future problems with the automobile.

Insurance companies do NOT make any type of profit off of low-balling their claims. In fact, this is where most companies lose money across the board. An average homeowners premium is $400-$500 a year, but an average homeowners claim is $3000-$4000. You do the math, Preston.

Now, JoAnn says in the end, she only saw an extra $1600 from AIG. That is far more than she was entitled to. If you want to get sue-happy and get money out of this accident, you need to go after the gentleman that caused the accident, not his insurance company. AIG's responsibility was to fix her car and cover her medical bills. Before you start bad-mouthing a company, make sure you understand their procedures. They have all been approved by the state's department of insurance.

Yes, Preston, they did put manufactured parts back on the car, thats why it took so long because they had to order the parts. I drive a red 98 Firebied. Tom, you are not to intelligent trying to pick probably the most unimportant information in my letter and pounding on it.

Did you not see the main reason for the letter? The gist of it was that this company LIED repeatedly and tried to scare me into complying with them.

The end result of this whole mess is I ended up suing them and got $6000, of which after my medical was paid I actually saw $1600 of it. Preston, I also hate insurance companies, they make the victim suffer and the guy that hit me probably didnt even know that I had sued the company.

I gave my lawyer all the info and AIG all but called me a liar. Said their agent would never say the things I said she did. I wish I had been smart and recorded the conversation. AIG sucks and Tom probably works for them.

480 hours of labor would be asenine. However, I'm sure this was an ESTIMATE with a CUSHION as to how long it would take for labor and to get THE RIGHT PARTS. That is why it would take so long. Not because they are working on the SAME CAR every minute of everyday every week for months. No, I'm sure they would take it step by step to repair the damage.

This, of course, is pending on whether or not it is a 'recommended' body shop that gives the insurance company a discount and doesn't use manufacterer's parts.

Joann was not at fault and therefore has the right to CHOOSE THE MECHANIC AND BODY SHOP she can take the car to. She has exercised this right. She also should be provided a rental for the duration of the time the car is in the shop. I highly doubt seven days would be the cap.

However, this BS that this adjuster is trying to is why I HATE insurance companies. They always try to low-ball claims. They do whatever it takes to increase their profits at the expense of policy holders. As the report said, the adjuster tried to force the damage down.

The mechanic did not, but the adjuster said he did. I'd call an attorney just for the slander.

Joann -- did the body shop use MANUFACTURER'S parts? MAke sure they did. There should have been manufacturer's parts on the car prior to the crash, so it should be returned to 'prior to accident' condition with THE SAME QUALITY PARTS!

The truth is this complainant, Joann in Lonview, TX, hasn't done the math. 3 months of body work at 40 hours a week would be 480 hours. The going body labor rate is $32.00 per hour in most locations. That alone would warrant a claim of $15,000, not including parts. It is clear that JoAnn's mechanic (actually he better be a body repair specialist), doesn't know what he is doing.

JoAnn should have read her estimate and seen how many labor hours there were to fix their vehicle. Divide this by 8 hours (for a day's work) and that is how many days it should take any shop to repair a vehicle. I doubt JoAnn's estimate had 480 hours of work on it. What's she driving?